Eurailmag - #15 - March 2007 - (Page 15)

Coatings PRACTICAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OF COATING TECHNOLOGIES THE “COATING TECHNOLOGY” DEPARTMENT AT FRAUNHOFER INSTITUTE FOR MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING AND AUTOMATION (IPA), STUTTGART, HAS BEEN ACTIVITY INVOLVED IN THE SECTOR FOR THIRTY YEARS. ITS ACTIVITIES ARE FOCUSED ON ALL ASPECTS OF COATING TECHNOLOGY - FROM BASIC ISSUES TO USE-ORIENTED PROBLEMS. oating technology, an increasingly sophisticated and cross-cutting science, involves a complex range of different processes and facilities. In addition to established systems, methods for coating and modifying surfaces also use cutting edge technology e.g. nano materials or precise, final-shape coatings. For railway vehicles and objects with similar coating standards, future coating methods must reduce costs to a minimum and protect resources. Simulation of air streams in a spray booth In addition to growth in demand for highquality, innovative products and coatings, the main driving forces behind these developments are reproducibility and process-capability of surface treatment processes. Environmental protection and occupational health and safety concerns are important, too. To achieve the about challenges, R&D activities at Fraunhofer IPA are geared toward offering coating processes that are extremely reliable and reproducible. This calls for close coordination of material development and coating procedures. The focus is firmly on planning, developing, modeling and simulating coating methods, through to manufacturing that meets production needs. Taking quality assurance measures into account, implementing cost-efficient and resource-conserving, surface engineering technologies is becoming possible in both industry and craft trades today. Fraunhofer IPA is specialized in providing solutions to meet the following challenges: • reducing area and space require • reducing process times • using materials and energy efficiently • ensuring high process reliability “no refinishing operations” With a particular focus on: Microscope slide of paint overspray particle enclosed in coating © Fraunhofer IPA • weaknesses and failure analysis, coupled with the choice of suitable technologies; • creating technology road maps that take into account developments in similar industrial sectors; • checking R&D results at Fraunhofer IPA pilot plants operating under real production conditions, e.g. spray application optimization with alternative or new paint materials; • developing cleaning processes and methods to remove graffiti that are compatible with varnishing; • designing and using simulation tools for spray coating processes (DLS – Dynamic Coating Simulation), particularly digital and practical tests, as well as optimization of spray coating processes and air streams in large spray booths. This approach enables feasibility studies to be produced at an early stage and comparison of different plant designs for replanning purposes. For these tasks, Fraunhofer IPA has a team of 50 engineers, scientists and students, as well as a wide range of practical equipment, pilot plants and testing laboratories Dieter Ondratschek, Fraunhofer IPA • planning and optimizing innovative, cost-efficient coating processes and plants. This includes using a computer assisted method (CoaTway®); EURAILmag Business & Technology Issue 15

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Eurailmag - #15 - March 2007

SOMMAIRE
NOTICE BOARD
COATINGS
NEWS
SERVICES
INFRASTRUCTURE
HIGH-SPEED LINES
TUNNELS
PEOPLE
ROLLING STOCK
WEBSITE DIRECTORY

Eurailmag - #15 - March 2007

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